Dhaka College, Ideal College students clash at Science Lab

Students of Dhaka College and Ideal College were involved in a clash at Science Lab area of Dhaka today.

The incident took place at around 12:15pm near the Science Lab intersection, at the southern end of Green Road, disrupting traffic in the area for some time.

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Police intervened and brought the situation under control.

Md Ayub, officer-in-charge of New Market Police Station, said some Ideal College students threw stones at a Dhaka College bus, prompting 20 to 25 Dhaka College students to head towards Ideal College. “We escorted them back into Dhaka College. No one from the college was injured,” he told The Daily Star.

Contacted, Md Fazle Ashiq, officer-in-charge of Kalabagan Police Station, said two or three students may have been injured, including two from Ideal College and one from Dhaka College.

“It is difficult to say what exactly caused the dispute between them. However, we heard that someone from Ideal College threw stones at a Dhaka College bus. The Dhaka College students then chased them. This led to a chase and counter-chase between the two sides,” he said.

However, people who witnessed the incident near the Ideal College gate gave a different account.

Several roadside vendors said Dhaka College students went to the Ideal College gate around 12:30pm and threw bricks and stones into the college premises.

A staff member of Ideal College, requesting anonymity, alleged that Dhaka College students arrived carrying sticks and beat some Ideal College students in front of the gate, even as police were present. “They beat Ideal College students outside the gate. When our students began coming out, they left the area,” he told The Daily Star.

Police remained deployed in front of Ideal College after the incident. Students of the two colleges have clashed repeatedly over various issues, with at least 15 such incidents reported last year.

On November 9 last year, students of the two colleges agreed, following mediation by New Market Police Station, not to engage in further clashes.